Thursday, August 30, 2012

A Link and a Comprehensive Exam

Well, my first comprehensive exam is completed.

Yesterday I spent eight hours frantically typing out answers to three questions: (1) What is the proper Christian approach to reading Scripture? (2) What constitutes the identity of the church across time? (3) How is the imago dei defined and does it need to be problematized? I framed each set of answers as a kind of "state of the question" after Barth, told as a theological story both chronological and thematic, interested especially in how theologians' ecclesial commitments have affected and inflected their approaches to the questions.

And now it's done.

After celebrating with the cohort last night, I have this morning to rest, before heading off to my first class of the fall semester this afternoon. So much for a break.

But, I thought I would at least share what I'm reading this morning. Go check out Richard Beck's important post (at least for those of us within churches of Christ) articulating his (not new, but now public) stance of "passive resistance" to patriarchal gender roles within the church. It's well worth the read.

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Mi Yodea?

Mi yodea? is the question the King of Nineveh asks in Jonah 3:9: "Who knows?" Jonah announces the impending destruction of Nineveh, but the King calls his people to repentance, resting his hope on the open possibility that God may be moved to mercy and forgiveness. And, as it happens, God is.

So that is the overarching question for us as we practice theology: Who knows? Who knows what God is doing, or what God has in store? The God revealed in Israel and in Jesus of Nazareth is a God of surprises, one who is doing a new thing. Such a God we will find at work in the most unlikely of places; may we, then, be fellow explorers and sojourners on the way.

About Me

I teach theology at Abilene Christian University. I'm interested in Scripture, theological interpretation, ecclesiology, the Trinity, and nonviolence. In an alternate universe I am a film critic while sidelining as an NBA analyst. Put those together, you've got this blog. Follow me on Twitter @eastbrad.